“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.

Matthew 6:5

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Matthew 6:5a-b

I continue my study of The Character of Jesus.  For this morning, I focus on chapter 5: The Sincerity of Jesus where I highlighted in my Kindle version the following excerpts:

• Sincerity is referred to as "the keystone" and as "fundamental" to one's character.  "This is what we demand of all the higher relationships of life. In the lower relationships sincerity is desirable, but in the higher ones it is absolutely indispensable."
• "There is nothing which so takes the life out of us as the discovery that some one whom we have trusted has been other than what he seemed to be.  The very suspicion that some one whose life is close to us is insincere renders us restless and makes the universe seem insecure."
• "And yet how common insincerity is. What a miserable old humbug of a world we are living in, full of trickery and dishonesty and deceit of every kind."
•  "[Jesus] is a man incapable of a lie. Nothing was so abhorrent to him as falsehood. No other people so stirred his wrath as men who pretended to be what they were not. The most odious word upon his lips was the word 'hypocrite'."
  
•  "It was the sincerity of Jesus which drove him into deadly conflict with the hypocrites. A hypocrite and Jesus cannot live together."
  
• "It was because of Jesus' incorruptible sincerity that we have from his lips such a remarkable outpouring of plain words. You and I do not like plain words. We dare not use them — at least often. We water our words down. We pull the string out of them. We substitute long Latin words for plain, short, Anglo-Saxon words, for by multiplying the syllables we attenuate the meaning. For instance, we say "prevarication' instead of "lie," because falsehood when expressed pompously loses its blackness and grossness. But Jesus would not use words of velvet when words of velvet flattered and deceived. It was his work to help men see themselves as they were. He characterized them by words which accurately described their character."
• "Jesus was incorrigibly sincere, and it was sincerity which drove him to tell men the plain truth."
  
• "There was a strong inducement for him to conceal his extraordinary knowledge. A man makes himself odious by claiming to know more than other men, and by asserting that he can do more than anybody else. It would have been easier for Jesus to adopt the language of the professionally humble people who are always saying that they do not know anything and cannot do anything and do not amount to anything. But Jesus was a man of truth. He could not disguise the fact that his knowledge was unique and that his power was unparalleled. Because he was true he could not hold back the fact that he was the Good Shepherd and the Door, the Bread of Life, and the Light of the World. Nothing but sincerity would ever have driven him to outrage the feelings of his countrymen by assertions so extraordinary. Had he kept silence or pretended to be ignorant on matters on which he possessed full knowledge, he would indeed have been a liar like the very men with whom he was struggling."
  
• "The awful parables of the New Testament are the product of a heart that was uncompromisingly sincere. To speak soft words to men whose feet are hastening down the road to ruin, how was it possible to do it? His very sincerity drove him into language which to our cold hearts seems exaggerated and needlessly abusive. He called the leaders in Jerusalem liars, blind men, fools, serpents, vipers....was it not the duty of Jesus to inform them of their pitiable condition? What else could a sincere friend do?" 
  
•  "It is the calm statement of a horrible fact. The Lord of truth must of necessity use words which accurately characterize the persons who are to be instructed and warned."
  
• Jesus was never accused of falsehoods - instead heresy.  
  
•  "He holds back nothing. What he thinks he says, what he feels he declares. He tones down nothing, he exaggerates nothing. He declares all things as they are. He is not swerved by sin within nor cowed by hostile forces from without. His character is revealed in his speech."
  
• "This, then, is the man we want. A man like this can be a refuge in the time of storm. To him we can flee; when sick at heart, because of the deceptions of the world, we cry out in wretchedness, "Who shall show us any good?" When men disappoint us and friends are few, we can come to one who says, "I am the truth." When we are weary and heavy laden, we can rest our souls upon one who is as certain as the morning and as faithful as the stars."
• "The world is filled with jangling voices and it is hard to know which voice to trust; but his voice has in it something which inspires assurance and quenches uncertainty and doubt." 
  
• "When he says that him that cometh unto him he will in no way cast off, we are certain that if we come we shall be received. When he says, " Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man will hear my voice and open the door I will come in and sup with him and he with me," we are certain of a heavenly guest if we want him. This, then, is why we feel so calm and satisfied with Jesus: he soothes and heals us by being genuine. The heart is always at peace when it rests upon a heart which is sincere."  
  

Indeed very wise words from Mr. Jefferson!  I am left with at least two key takeaways upon reading this chapter of The Character of Jesus.  First, in light of Jesus' sincerity, we can trust in His words and promises - see 2 Corinthians 1:20.  This should give us incredible hope and encouragement to persist, endure and hold steadfast to our faith.  Second, we can trust that God will both reveal our sin to us - by talking plainly to us through the Word and the Holy Spirit - and that He will work in us to make us more like Him as we repent from such sin and turn towards Him.  This latter promise of sanctification, is also one of great hope and encouragement because we should seek to please Him and grow in our obedience to Him - we exist to glorify Him.

Comment and discuss this post.

My Prayer: Father God, You are Truth and I can count on You.  You also give me the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to me and to work in me to sanctify me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.